


please don't ever become a stranger

by lesmiserablol



Series: Zukka Week 2021 [7]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Assassination Attempt(s), Blood, Blood and Injury, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Break Up, Post-Canon, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 16:34:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,716
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30142407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: “Zuko,” Sokka starts, his voice stern as Zuko lets the silence drag on, opting to not answer Sokka’s question.“Sokka,” Zuko says childishly. He feels Sokka’s arm tense slightly under his touch and he frowns. “Stop that. I’m almost done.”“How many assassination attempts have there been since—“Since I moved out of the palace, since we broke up, since we said goodbye“—since the one on Ember Island?”(or, Zuko tenderly bandages Sokka's wounds after Sokka risks his life for Zuko)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zukka Week 2021 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211507
Comments: 25
Kudos: 222
Collections: Zukka





	please don't ever become a stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This is for day six of Zukka week, coming at you with some hurt/comfort <3

“You’re an idiot,” Zuko says, but the way his voice cracks and his hands shake give him away. 

Sokka’s grin, usually white and blinding, is red, and Zuko looks away. He can practically hear Sokka’s voice in his head, teasing him and saying,  _ “I’m your idiot.”  _

But Sokka hasn’t been Zuko’s idiot in over a year. 

Zuko cringes as soon as the thought enters his mind. Seeing Sokka again really does questionable things to his ability to think straight, in more than one way. 

Sokka notices his cringe, and a hand stained red from his own dry blood reaches out to grip Zuko’s arm in a comforting gesture. “Hey. You don’t have to do this, you know. We can go to the infirmary.”

He’s misreading Zuko’s body language, something he hasn’t done since eight years ago when they were first making the transition from enemies to allies, and that realization hurts more than he expected it to. 

_ I don’t want to let you out of my sight. I don’t trust anyone else to take care of you. My mind won’t settle for one minute until I know I’ve done everything possible to help you. It’s my fault you almost died and I’ll feel guilty until I can make it all better.  _

Instead of saying any of that, Zuko’s voice is quiet when he insists, “No, I don’t mind.”

Sokka falls silent as he watches Zuko work, and Zuko pretends that he’s too focused to speak and not that it has to do with the fact that his throat is tight and if he tries to say anything that he’ll say the wrong thing and mess it all up again and—

Neither of them speak as Zuko continues dressing the wound. He’s no waterbender, he’s sure the healers are all busy with the handful of wounded guards, but it suffices. His Uncle taught him some first aid, and it came in handy a few times on the ship or on the streets of Ba Sing Se after another night of donning the Blue Spirit mask. He cleans the wound carefully but firmly enough to prevent infection, then he double checks that the needle is sterile by burning the end before threading it and starting to stitch up the stab wound on Sokka’s arm. 

He’s sitting cross legged on the floor of his room, all the lamps lit to fill it with light, knowing any moving shadow would catch his eye and bring him on edge. Sokka is sitting across from him, leaning forward with his wrist resting on Zuko’s thigh as Zuko works on the wound on his upper arm. In any other situation, Zuko would be hyperaware of their proximity, of every inch of contact shared between them. He was like that before they dated, and he thought that he would be able to move on after they broke up, given the fact that he had his curiosity satisfied. He found out just how soft Sokka’s lips really were and knew too well the way they fit together. But those lingering memories have only made his longing more potent as time goes on and as Sokka’s visits become less frequent. 

As it is, Zuko is too wrapped up in doing a good job with the stitches to think about that now. Sokka had joked that he could be as careless as he wanted to, that a scar would look cool, but Zuko has never been careless with Sokka, and he’s not about to start now. 

Sokka isn't one for letting the silence drag on for long, and even the large amount of blood loss he experienced within the last hour doesn’t change that. 

“When was the last assassination attempt before this?” he asks casually, as if asking about the weather. But Zuko knows what he’s thinking. He knows that if Sokka knew just how many assassination attempts there have been in the last year, he would be worried, he would be furious, he might insist on coming to the Fire Nation more often. But he has his own life and his own duties to attend to. Besides, as much as Zuko misses him when he’s gone, it’s nothing compared to the pain he feels when he’s so close and yet feels so far from him. 

Sokka knows the Kyoshi Warriors are capable. Sokka trusts them, Zuko trusts them. Almost every assassination attempt in the last year was thwarted before he knew something was wrong. But that has never stopped Sokka from worrying. Seeing that worry continue even after their romance came to an abrupt ending is something that Zuko isn’t sure how to feel about. 

“Zuko,” Sokka starts, his voice stern as Zuko lets the silence drag on, opting to not answer Sokka’s question. 

“Sokka,” Zuko says childishly. He feels Sokka’s arm tense slightly under his touch and he frowns. “Stop that. I’m almost done.”

“How many assassination attempts have there been since—“  _ Since I moved out of the palace, since we broke up, since we said goodbye _ “—since the one on Ember Island?”

Ember Island. Their last real date together. The tipping point on what had been a long time coming as Zuko was once again faced with the reality of the cost of their relationship.

“A few,” Zuko says honestly. “None of them have gotten close to me. Not like this.”

This time was different. This time...Zuko knows he’ll be reliving this day in his nightmares for the foreseeable future. The fear in Sokka’s eyes, the way he shoved Zuko aside without hesitation, stopping the knife from getting close to the Fire Lord by blocking it with...well, himself. 

Zuko is glad he’s finished with the stitches, because now his hands are noticeably shaking as he cuts the thread after tying off the final stitch. He moves to grab the bandages and Sokka notices, frowning. 

“Are you okay?” he asks. 

Zuko snorts, but he’s not sure why. Is it because he has been far from okay for a long time, or maybe because Sokka is the one with an injured arm and a swollen jaw and eye and all kinds of scrapes and bruises that he got from the fight while Zuko had been screaming for help and doing everything to get Sokka out of harm’s way, and yet he is asking  _ Zuko  _ if he’s okay. 

“Are you?” he counters. 

“I asked you first,” Sokka smirks. At least, Zuko thinks he does. He still won’t look at him, pretending to be busy with the wrappings to meet his eyes, but he recognizes the tone to know his expression without looking. 

“You could’ve died today, and it would’ve been my fault,” Zuko says finally. “I would’ve regretted that every day for the rest of my life, the guilt of knowing my…best friend sacrificed himself for me.”

“Yeah, because you’ve never done anything like that at all,” Sokka says sarcastically. “Boiling Rock, the Agni Kai with Azula, the Red Lotus attack at the five year anniversary of the end of the war, I could go on and on, Zuko. But none of that was sacrificing yourself, right?”

Zuko’s shoulders tense. “Those times—”

“Don’t try and tell me that those were different. I won’t hear that bullshit,” Sokka says. “As soon as I saw the knife today, I knew what I had to do. What I wanted to do.”

“You could’ve died,” Zuko says again, finally looking up to meet Sokka’s eyes. “I don’t...I can’t lose you, Sokka.”

Sokka’s eyes are wet, and he bites his lip before speaking again. “Remind me why we broke up.”

Really? Now? Zuko looks away, quiet as he finishes wrapping Sokka’s arm, then he finishes and puts his hands down as he meets his eyes again. Sokka doesn’t put any space between them. Zuko doesn’t either. 

“We broke up because...because I was worried about you. About your safety,” Zuko says quietly. “I didn’t want you to get hurt in case something happened. Something like exactly what happened today.”

“And yet, we’re still here. I’m not your boyfriend, but I still threw myself into that fight because no matter what, I care about you. I always will,” Sokka says simply.

“What are you saying?” Zuko asks, but he knows exactly what Sokka is trying to tell him. 

“I’m saying I’m still in love with you, dork,” Sokka answers. “I’m saying I miss you every day, and I miss what we used to have. I’m always going to want to protect you, no matter what. So maybe we should try again.”

“It’s not…” Zuko clenches his fists where they rest on his lap. “It’s not that easy, Sokka. People could target you.”

“I can handle myself,” Sokka says. “This is my choice too, Zuko. I’m aware of the risks, I’m aware of the danger. But damn it if I don’t care about them. I need to be with you, we can figure out the rest.”

When Zuko doesn’t answer, Sokka grabs his hands, forcing him to relax and to intertwine his fingers with Sokka’s. 

“If you don’t...want that, if you’ve moved on, that’s okay. You don’t owe me anything. But if the only reason we aren’t together is because you’re too afraid to let yourself love like this…”

Zuko’s chest aches. He is surprised at his own strength when he squeezes Sokka’s hands. “I don’t think I could move on if I tried. Of course I want you, Sokka. I always will.”

Sokka smiles at him. “Then think about it. You don’t have to give me an answer right now. In fact, I think you should get some rest. It’s been a long day.”

He stops, waiting for the invitation that they both know is coming. He is patient as he starts rubbing his thumb against Zuko's fingers, the touch warm and gentle and familiar.

“Can you stay here tonight? Stay with me?” Zuko finally says, his voice a whisper.

He knows he won’t sleep well unless he has Sokka in his arms, a reminder that he’s okay, that he’s alive, something to ground him when he wakes up in a cold sweat or his mind racing with panic. 

Sokka lifts their joined hands, pressing a delicate kiss to Zuko’s knuckles, then he smiles at Zuko.

“Of course.” 

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](https://bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
